The French River is a large body of water that flows 105 kilometers from Lake Nipissing to the Georgian Bay, through the landscape of the Canadian Shield. The river is located in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is connected to the Great Lakes, the largest unfrozen source of freshwater in the world. These lakes become an important water supply to Canada, with 1 in 3 Canadians living within the Great Lakes watershed. However, this source doesn’t only serve humans; it also is the habitat of over 3500 types of plants and animals, and over 250 species of fish.

However, these species are under pressure from human settlements, with the sprawl of cities and roadways ever further encroaching on their homes. The natural cycles of their ecosystems are also being interrupted by invasive species, which are typically introduced by human activity.

The Great Lakes and the species that make their home the region are extremely important to the health and productivity of North America. This lodge is designed to house a research team with a focus on extinct and extirpated species, with the hope of being able to provide more stability to the ecosystems of the region.